Critical Infrastructure News
Exclusive: US disabled Chinese hacking network targeting critical infrastructure
The U.S. government in recent months launched an operation to fight a pervasive Chinese hacking operation that compromised thousands of internet-connected devices, two Western security officials and a person familiar with the matter said. The Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation sought and received legal authorization to remotely disable aspects of the Chinese hacking…
Read MoreStates And Congress Wrestle With Cybersecurity At Water Utilities Amid Renewed Federal Warnings
The tiny Aliquippa water authority in western Pennsylvania was perhaps the least-suspecting victim of an international cyberattack. It had never had outside help in protecting its systems from a cyberattack, either at its existing plant that dates to the 1930s or the new $18.5 million one it is building. Then it — along with several…
Read MoreColorado man sentenced in Nevada power plant fire initially described as terror attack
A Colorado man was sentenced Wednesday to prison in Nevada following his arrest last January for setting his car afire at a remote facility in what authorities initially characterized as a terror attack on the electric system serving several Las Vegas Strip casinos. Mohammed Reza Mesmarian, 35, was sentenced to two to 10 years following…
Read MoreFirst of two defendants sentenced to prison for Christmas Day 2022 attack on power substations
One of two Pierce County men who vandalized electrical substations as part of a burglary scheme, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, to 18 months in prison, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Jeremy Crahan, 40, pleaded guilty in September 2023, admitting he joined co-defendant Matthew Greenwood in a conspiracy to…
Read MoreRansomware hackers ‘wreaking havoc’ arrested in Ukraine
European cyber police have arrested a 32-year-old suspected of being the ringleader of a ransomware gang operating in Ukraine. In raids across the country authorities seized laptops and arrested four other alleged hackers. The gang are accused of successfully extorting “several hundred millions of euros” from victims in 71 countries. The arrests are the latest…
Read MoreMunicipal Water Authority of Aliquippa hacked by Iranian-backed cyber group
The Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa said on Saturday that one of their booster stations had been hacked by an Iranian-backed cyber group. Matthew Mottes, the chairman of the board of directors for the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa, confirmed to KDKA-TV that the cyber group, known as Cyber Av3ngers, took control of one of…
Read MoreArson likely caused fire that damaged vital artery of Los Angeles freeway, governor says
Arson was the cause of a massive weekend fire that charred and indefinitely closed a vital section of a Los Angeles freeway, causing major traffic headaches for hundreds of thousands of commuters, California authorities said Monday. Gov. Gavin Newsom said investigators were trying to determine if one person or more were involved. He gave no…
Read MoreEngineer Indicted for Bombing Energy Facilities in California
Peter Karasev, 36, a U.S. citizen residing in San Jose, was arraigned in the Northern District of California today on an indictment charging him with destroying energy facilities and using fire or explosives to commit a federal crime. According to court documents, Karasev was indicted on Oct. 19. As alleged in counts one and two…
Read MorePolice investigating incident at South Carolina nuclear plant after car drives through security fences
Police in South Carolina are investigating an incident involving a vehicle that drove through security fences at a nuclear power station on Thursday. The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is now in the early stages of an investigation into an incident that occurred earlier this evening at the Oconee Nuclear Station when the E-911/Communications Center received…
Read MoreUS Marshals seek public’s help finding 2nd Morgan State shooting suspect, offer $19K reward
The U.S. Marshals Service is asking for the public’s help in locating the second suspect in the Oct. 3 shooting at Morgan State University in Baltimore. The Marshals are offering up to $10,000 as a reward for information that leads to the arrest of 18-year-old Jovon Terrell Williams, according to a news release from the…
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